by Sherri Renee
There was something about being in a happy relationship that made me want to help everyone find their special someone.
“What about you Megan?”
She shrugged and looked away. “I kind of have my eye on someone,” she said mysteriously. “We’ll see if it works out.” We all tried to pry more information out of her about her secret crush, but she wasn’t giving us any clues.
“Well, if you like him, I hope it works out for you,” Kristen told her with a smile.
Megan cut a look at her and gave her a cold, “Thanks,” before looking away.
Kristen met my eyes and raised her brows, and I shrugged. Something was definitely off between Megan and Kristen, but I had no idea what it might be.
Chapter 35
Wylie’s team ran out of the locker room to a deafening roar from the crowd. Since we were playing on their turf this time the cheering was almost overwhelming. The players were as cold and focused as the last time we played them, and my entire body tensed when I saw Danny.
To my surprise, he met my look before grabbing a basketball and passing it to another player. I shook my head. I would have given anything for that brief glance last week. Now seeing him just left me feeling distant. It was almost as if he was a complete stranger.
“You doing okay?” Kristen whispered when she saw me watching him.
I nodded. “I wasn’t sure what it would be like to see him again, but I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt.”
“I think you can thank Jace for that,” she said with a knowing look. “You have something so good now with Jace that you don’t miss what you had with Danny. That’s how it was for me with Matt after George and I broke up.”
She was right. I had no doubt I’d be a wreck seeing Danny after the way he’d moved on so quickly if I didn’t have Jace in my life. It still kind of hurt that he hadn’t returned my call when I tried to talk to him about my mom, but I was glad he hadn’t now. If he had I wouldn’t have called Jace and there’s no telling where things would be between us.
The game was about to start and we lined up for the tip-off. Danny and Jace both jumped for the ball and my heart pounded wildly. I kept telling myself it was just a game and nothing bad was going to happen, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Danny whacking Jace with his elbow at the last game.
I clasped my hands tightly behind my back, and fought to keep the fear I felt from showing on my face. Wylie raced down the court and scored right away, and the few people we had in the stands in the visitor’s section let out a collective groan. It looked like tonight could be a repeat of the last time we played them.
We went into a cheer designed to boost our players’ spirits before standing quietly to watch. Wylie scored again. This time Danny was the one to make the shot. His blond cheerleader went wild, but I was almost positive he’d looked at me.
Was he trying to make sure I knew what I was missing? Did he regret breaking up with me? Was my eyesight failing me and he was really looking at something else, and I just thought he was looking at me?
It didn’t matter. It was strange, and it made me uncomfortable. I felt like he wanted me to watch him, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. Wouldn’t he be more interested in whether his new girlfriend was watching him or not?
Our team ran the ball all the way down the court. We all cheered as hard as we could, but the shot went wide. Jules looked at me and scrunched up her face in a disappointed frown. I felt the same way.
Danny had the ball, I saw him look directly at me before pivoting with his elbows to the side, catching Jace in the chest. I gasped and held my hands to my mouth. Jace bounced back a step before running straight for Danny.
I wasn’t sure what he’d do but visions of their fight flickered like a strobe light before my eyes. I hoped Jace wouldn’t hit him because I knew that would get him in major trouble.
Jace got to Danny, and I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t look away. And then I was glad I didn’t as Jace knocked the ball right out of Danny’s hands and ran a few steps towards our basket before passing the ball to Brian. Brian took the ball down the court and as soon as Wylie tried to block him, he passed it to Matt. Matt easily made the shot and put Forest Ridge on the scoreboard.
It was kind of like everything finally gelled for us at that point, and Wylie was down by seven at halftime.
By the end of the game, we ended up beating Wylie by eleven points. It wasn’t quite as impressive as their win against us, but since that was a practice game it didn’t count for anything anyway.
Jace ran over and wrapped me in a super quick hug before giving high-fives to the other girls as they congratulated him. I gave high-fives to the other players and told them all good game, but I kept my eye on Jace as he disappeared into the locker room. I was ninety percent sure Danny wouldn’t start a fight or anything else stupid, but I’d feel better when we were back on the bus heading home.
I was gathering my stuff when I felt someone stop beside me. I glanced up and was shocked to find Danny standing there.
“Hi?” I said uncertainly.
“So you really are dating him?” Danny stared hard at me. “You know we just broke up, right? I thought you loved me or something. Isn’t that what you said?”
I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder, giving myself a minute to form a reply. I hadn’t expected to run into Danny face to face and especially not alone. I wasn’t intimidated by him though. I was simply hurt and angry.
“Yeah,” I said, “and you didn’t love me so what do you care who I date?” I saw his little blond glaring at us from across the gym, and I tipped my head towards her. “I hear you’re dating someone too, so I’m not sure what difference it makes if I’m dating anyone or not.”
He jerked like he was surprised I knew he and his ex-girlfriend were back together. I gave him a smug look, deciding Kara’s gossip had paid off for a change.
“That’s not what I wanted to talk about,” he said shortly. “I got your message to call you. You said it was important.”
I lifted a brow and my lips thinned. How many days had passed since I’d left that message? On one hand, I no longer wanted to share anything with him. On the other, I wanted to lash out and hurt him like he’d hurt me. “I found out my mom has cancer,” I said shortly, keeping my eyes fixed on his, “and I needed someone to talk to. Thanks so much for being there for me.”
I’d surprised him again. and he dropped his arrogant expression. “Michelle,” he shook his head, “I didn’t know.”
I searched his face for the guy I’d thought I loved. The hurt I thought I was over built up and poured out. “I might have rushed things thinking I was in love with you,” I said, breathing hard. “But I thought we were at least friends. I thought you’d be there for me when I needed you. I would have been there for you. If you’d called saying it was important, I wouldn’t have ignored you.” I shook my head and clenched my teeth together.
Danny looked down at his feet.
I saw Jace striding across the gym towards us with a cold expression on his face. I let out a short breath. I wasn’t sure what would happen next, but I wasn’t looking forward to finding out. Jace wrapped an arm around my waist. “Is there a problem here?” he asked. His voice was as hard as nails. I barely recognized it.
Danny ignored him, looking up to meet my eyes. “I’m sorry.” He shook his head again. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He shifted his gaze to Jace. They stared at each other for a minute before Danny stuck out his hand. Jace looked at it without moving then slowly took it.
“Take care of her,” Danny said, surprising me. “She’s really special.” He turned and walked away without looking back.
“Are you okay?” Jace asked. Danny took the blond cheerleader’s hand and walked to the door. “What was that about?”
I took a deep breath as I watched Danny walk away. Maybe I felt a little better after talking to him, but I couldn’t decide yet. “I guess we fina
lly got some closure.” I shrugged.
I broke my gaze from my past and turned to my present and possibly future. It was hard to believe how fast everything had changed in my life. “Does that whole no public displays of affection thing pertain to hugs too?”
Jace glanced around before giving me a tight hug. “Not as long as no one sees us,” he joked before stepping back. He took my bag and slung the strap over his shoulder with his then offered me his hand. I took it, and as we connected with his warm skin pressed against my cooler hand, I felt such a complete sense of peace I couldn’t hold back a sigh.
Jace grinned down at me and I grinned right back. I regretted that he hadn’t let me know he liked me a year ago, but I was thankful we were together now. I wasn’t going to rush things like I did with Danny, but I decided it wouldn’t hurt to get an idea of what Jace thought about kids.
“So,” I said, swinging our joined hands between us as we walked to the bus. “Do you like kids? Have you ever thought about having a big family?”
NowAvailable: Book 3 in the Forest Ridge High Series, High School Drop Out. Are you as worried about Laurie as all of her friends are? You can read her story in High School Drop Out.
I hope you enjoyed reading Michelle’s story in High School Heartbreak. Reviews are so important to indie authors. They help others discover our books Please take a minute to leave your review today!
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